In many situations, it is desirable for a driver of an automobile to determine an Estimated Time of Arrival or ETA at a given location. For example, the driver may need to pick up an item, meet a person, or arrive at a location at or by a specified time. In some situations, the destination is a service provider desiring an accurate ETA to allow sufficient time to prepare an item, such as food, for the driver to pick up without having to wait. Currently, the driver must provide a best guess as to his ETA, which more often than not ultimately proves to be inaccurate. Factors such as unknown or unpredictable traffic patterns, road closures and detours, accidents, and other obstacles can cause the ETA to be grossly inaccurate.
Many types of ETA estimation systems are currently available to assist drivers. One system uses a series of traffic volume sensors or indicators positioned at selected locations on highly traveled roadways to provide drivers with estimates of traffic flow. Other systems use cameras and aircraft to provide visual estimates of traffic volume. These systems, however, commonly provide traffic information only for selected roadways and still require the driver to estimate the ETA. The traffic information can also be stale due to the delays in reporting the information to the driver coupled with the high variability of traffic volume, particularly at specific times of the day. Moreover, the ETA estimation systems commonly fail to provide continual updates to the driver as to the ETA as traffic conditions or the route traveled varies.